Surrounded, Scourged, Stripped And Struck
Or
A Man Of Sorrows And Grief
Sunday July 2, 2023
Scripture To Consider:
“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’”
“Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off of Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.” Matthew 27.27-31
Something To Consider:
Our last Scripture to consider, ended with the words of verse 26 of Matthew chapter 27. “And when he [Pilate] had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.” None of the gospel writers describe in detail the scourging that Jesus suffered at the hands of Pilate’s soldiers. Historical records reveal much of the terrible torturing practice of scourging.
Scourging was exercised to inflict pain, to humiliate the criminal, and to reduce the unsolved crimes of any region where this hideous practice was allowed. The punishment of scourging a person usually produced all three results, except in the case of Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus was not guilty of any crimes. Therefore, He was falsely abused and suffered that which He did not deserve. Have we ever suffered that which we did not deserve? And yet, according to Romans 3.23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Paul continued by declaring in verse 24-25, “Being justified freely by His grace [God the Father’s grace] through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation [or an acceptable and complete atoning offering] by His blood [Jesus’ blood], through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God has passed over the sins [or made a way of the forgiveness of our sins] that were previous committed.” Praise God in Christ!
Something Else To Consider:
Yes, Jesus suffered great humiliating pain at the hands of the garrison of Roman soldiers that surrounded Him. It all began with His clothes being torn from His body. He was then tied and bent over a whipping post, exposing the flesh of His back.
The whip that was used was made from lengths of leather strips. At the end of what was called a cat of nine tails, was embedded pieces of bone and other objects that had been sharpened so as to inflict the maximum pain and discomfort upon the prisoner.
It was customary as the prisoner was being lashed over and over again, that a scribe would stand by and read aloud any unsolved crimes. If the prisoner confessed to his involvement in the crime, the lashings would be with less intensity and force, until there were no more crimes to confess.
Many prisoners would die under the severity of the scourging even while confessing to outstanding crimes. Jesus could not lie, so He could not confess to a single crime. Therefore, He bore the full brunt of His being abused. Therefore, He was severely bruised for our iniquities and wounded for our transgressions. Yes, the chastisement of our peace was placed upon Him, according to the Word of God!
Something More To Consider:
Isaiah writing in chapter 50, verse 6 of his prophetic book, described the horrible scene of the abuse of Jesus by stating prophetically, “I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out My beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.”
Isaiah further described the carnage in Isaiah 53.3, when he wrote, speaking prophetically of Jesus; “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were, our faces from Him.” The beating that Jesus survived left Him brutally disfigured.
Though Jesus was surrounded by angry soldiers, scourged per Pilate’s orders, shamed by the stripping off of His clothes, struck repeatedly while blindfolded, and though a Man of sorrows and grief, He remained faithful to God His Father and faithful to all who believe in Him. Therefore, are we to be counted among the faithful, or among those who reject Him and His atoning sacrifice and enduring to the end faithfulness?
Will we be found by Jesus at His second coming, faithful or faithless? Will we yield to the Antichrist’s demands and mandates in order to get along by our going along? How have we done with the mandates of society so far? Are we already following the demands of the ever increasing governmental crackdowns and mandatory lockdowns?
Jesus was faithful unto His death upon an old rugged cross. And with that said, please be careful of those who make it as if you are damned if you believe it was an old rugged cross rather than an old rugged pole. Yes, there are groups who place more importance on the fact that Jesus was crucified on a pole rather than a cross. And because of that they claim superiority in bible knowledge. How sad!
There are more important issues to concern ourselves with, though the New Testament mentions the cross at least twenty-eight times rather than a pole. Beware, lest you be deceived! According to Jesus, “Take heed that no one deceives you.”
According to Jesus in Revelation 2.10; “Do not fear any of these things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you a crown of life.” What is it that we are working for, a large financial retirement nest egg, or a crown of life? One is eternal and the other is losing value as you read this lesson of a lifetime!
A Few Final Words:
In Matthew 24, though Jesus knew He would soon be surrounded, scourged, stripped, and struck repeatedly, He was willing to warn those who have spiritual ears to hear, of the coming end time tribulation and testing of mankind. Speaking of the end times, Jesus warned in verse 9 of Matthew 24; “Then they [the Antichrist and all those who oppose Christ] will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.”
Have we prepared our minds and our hearts to stand firm in faith and in Christ? Have we prepared for ourselves and our loved ones physically for the mandates of not allowing us to buy or sell if we have enough faith to resist the mandate of worshipping the Antichrist and or the image of the beast?
Now is the time to prepare, not then! Yes, Jesus was a Man of sorrows and grief and if we follow in His footsteps we can be assured that we too will be men, women, and young people of sorrows and of grief. But keep in mind that Jesus is even now interceding on our behalf. Amen!
According to the apostle Paul, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, if we desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus, we shall suffer persecution. He did not say that we may or that we might, but that we shall suffer persecution if we have decided to follow Jesus even unto the end of our lives or unto the end of this age.
The mocking, scourging, and cruel treatment of Jesus was living proof of fulfilled prophecy that proved Him to be a Man of sorrows. His acquaintance with grief was in order to atone for the sins of the world, you and I included!
And according to Matthew’s gospel account, “And when they had mocked Him [Jesus], they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.” And according to Hebrews 12.2, “Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, it is repulsive to consider what pain man is capable of inflicting, and of what sin Jesus is still willing to forgive. Help us to endure unto the end while desiring to live godly lives in Christ Jesus. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 